


Incoming Transmission

by SusieBeeca



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Blackmail, Gen, Homeworld Politics, Homeworld is Horrible, Illustrations, Infection, Mention of mature things, Negotation, Padparadscha isn't useless, Slavery, Solidarity, Threats, illustrated fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 14:07:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18262874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SusieBeeca/pseuds/SusieBeeca
Summary: Emerald, in an unprecedented move, gives Padparadscha an offer she can't refuse... but things quickly take a turn.Set before BOHAM, canon divergent as of the comics... if they even count as canon!





	Incoming Transmission

Lars couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so enraptured by a window. There was just something ethereal about seeing Saturn’s rings wafting on by, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught glimpses of his crew occasionally turning to enjoy the view. He was still mulling over something Padparadscha had blurted out earlier---how the hell did she know Saturn was named after the human god of time?!---when he was snapped out of his reverie by a voice from behind him.

“Uh… Captain? We have an incoming message.”

He sighed and looked over his shoulder. “Of course we do.”

Rhodonite’s face was twisted with her usual anxiety, but there was a gleam of curiosity in her eyes. She pushed her chair back a few inches to show the icon flashing on her screen; the squiggle was clearly a gem glyph, but, to Lars’ surprise, it looked almost like a question mark. “Should I accept it?”

“Who’s it from?”

“Emerald. Who else?”

Lars blinked as he tried to process that. “What the… you telling me she’s _asking permission_ to contact us?”

“Seems like it. I mean, it does say ‘Priority message’, but---”

“Since when has Discount Anime Bitch ever asked permission?!” he interrupted. “She always just pops up on the screen screeching at us!”

Fluorite rested her chin on a folded arm as she peered out from the engine room. “Perhaps… she… has… learned… some… manners.”

Lars snorted. “Yeah, and I’m the Queen of Aqua-Mexico.”

Rhodonite shook her head. “I suppose there’s a chance it’s one of her underlings sneaking a message to us…? That would be incredibly risky, so we really should accept it. I mean, if someone’s putting herself in danger---”

“Oh! What a surprising vision!” Her head tilted to the side, Padparadscha pressed her palms to her cheeks and squeezed her lips together, her gem glowing faintly; it was an expression everyone had learned to recognize, that of the tiny gem straining to push the limits of her ability. “Emerald… Emerald herself! She’s going to contact us, but not… not…”

Instantly Rhodonite was out of her chair, scurrying over to her dear friend’s side. She took a knee to be eye-level and gently put her hands over the smaller, gloved ones, her thumb brushing over her facets. “What is it, Padparadscha?”

“You’re doing well,” Right Rutile said with a nod, lacing fingers with her sister. “We believe in you.”

After a tiny grunt of effort, Padparadscha leaned slightly into Rhodonite’s grasp and finished: “Not with warships. Alone. With an offer.”

“An _offer?!_ ”

“Jeez, she must be getting desperate,” Lars mused.

Right pulled her lip between her teeth. “Padparadscha, with all due respect, I think you might have strained yourself a bit too far. There’s no way Emerald would offer something to us. Even if she _is_ desperate.”

Her twin hadn’t looked up, but there was a little smile on her face. “When has she ever been wrong before?”

With an indignant sniff, Right turned to Left and opened her mouth to retort… but found she had nothing to say.

“She’s right, you know,” Rhodonite murmured. “She’s always right.”

Lars stood up, and although he did grab at his cape, he decided this wasn’t yet the right moment for a dramatic twirl. “That cinches it. Rhodonite, back to your station and open that damn message!”

“Aye-aye, Captain.”

As soon as she pressed the ‘accept’ button, the glyphs began to twirl as they relayed the information---then, with a grating beep, the main console glowed green.

Rhodonite's slippers creased as she curled her toes. “Here goes nothing.”

When Emerald popped up on the screen, she had her usual sneer, but the tightness of her mouth and her tense body suggested the card up her sleeve might not be an ace. “Off-Colours,” she said curtly.

“Aw, is that it?” Lars said as he lounged back on what he _knew_ used to be her chair. “Not even a ‘thank you for accepting my request’?”

“Shove it, Earlobes. This message isn’t for you.” Emerald’s eye flicked to the side. “It’s for the Sapphire.”

As much as he loved driving her mad with rage, that actually stunned Lars into silence. It seemed to have the same effect on his crew, although Padparadscha did eventually swivel her chair to the side to better face the screen.

“…And _only_ the Sapphire,” Emerald added with a little ‘shoo’ gesture.

Everyone turned to gawk at her, and for a few seconds, the quiet was only broken by the sounds of Emerald’s nails irritably tapping against her armrest. Once her lag caught up, Padparadscha smiled with what looked like forced politeness, and replied “Anything you wish to say to me you can say in front of my friends.”

“But that’s it exactly! They don’t have to be your friends anymore!”

For the first time that anyone could recall, Emerald looked happy. A little sweaty still, but actually _happy_. “Sapphire, listen to me: I have very good news for you.”

 

 

Fluorite cleared her throat. “It’s… ‘Padparadscha’… if… you… please.”

“I don’t,” she snipped without bothering to look her way. But her fanged smile immediately returned. “Homeworld is changing in ways you can’t even imagine. They’ve got a treatment for the Infection now!”

Lars looked around when he heard the gasps. “What? What infection?”

Ignoring him, Emerald continued: “It’s not a cure, but they’re getting close. They’ve rounded up---er, _gathered_ some of the Infected Sapphires and they’re giving them treatment. And it’s working!” She’d risen from her chair and was leaning over her console, now so close to the screen that her face was taking up most of it. “Some are starting to see ten, twenty seconds into the future---the best one can see half an hour! Isn’t that incredible?”

The stillness in the cabin loomed, and Padparadscha nervously picked at the edges of her gloves.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Emerald went on as she returned to her seat, legs crossed and one high-heeled foot kicking up jauntily in the air. “’This is a trap!’ But no. It’s an offer.” Her hand reached out of view, and suddenly a schematic popped up beside her. “You land here, on Octavia III. You disembark, and all the rest stay onboard. After…” Her eye twitched. “ _Your_ … ship departs safely, you will be escorted by my own hand-picked flank of Jaspers to the treatment centre.”

Padparadscha’s chin lowered until it was almost on her chest. “You are going to think you can offer me a gift.”

“And what a gift it is! I don’t personally believe in miracles, but this might be enough to change my mind.” Emerald leaned back, and then readjusted her camera when she realized her face was no longer in frame. “Don’t get me wrong---it’s not exactly pleasant and it _is_ expensive, but it works.” Examining her claws, Emerald smirked. “I know you lost your wealth, Sapphire, but… I pulled a few strings, just for you, out of the goodness of my soul.”

“Didn’t know she had one of those,” Rhodonite muttered.

Padparadscha folded her hands on her lap. “That is a very generous offer…” she began.

Emerald raised her eyebrow. “But?”

“…But I am going to have to decline.”

And, just like that, the fury snapped right back to her face. “WHAT?! Have you lost your mind?!”

“I am in a safe place, surrounded by those who love me,” Padparadscha said demurely. “Your offer should go to a Sapphire whose need is greater than mine.”

“No, Sapphire, you don’t understand. You’re not getting it.” The fur around her chest began to bristle. “You don’t have to be Off-Colour anymore! Look at you! You’re the rarest of the rare, and here you are with---with these degenerate fusions, whatever that two-headed freak is supposed to be, and taking orders from some revolting blob of meat!”

When she saw them all recoil, Emerald quickly held up her hands. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, that came out wrong, but… really, Sapphire! Or, er, Padparadscha. That’s what you prefer, isn’t it? This is an offer you can’t refuse!”

After a long stretch of silence---much longer than her usual delay---Padparadscha tilted her head towards the ceiling, her bangs falling away from her eye. She was smiling, but there was something just a little off about her expression. “Oh my! I predict that Emerald will give me an offer… with intentions just as pure as she is herself!”

Lars felt something boggle in his brain. Was Padparadscha---sweet, innocent little thing she was---being _sarcastic?_

Apparently Emerald had picked up on it too, because her nose crinkled in indignation. “And what is _that_ supposed to mean?”

“Flawless, untarnished Emerald,” she continued, now swinging her legs under her thick skirts. “Not a blemish to her reputation. None at all. Everyone knows she’s a virgin. So pure.”

“I AM pure,” Emerald growled. “Unlike _some_ gems, I keep myself away from things than can diminish my value! I wasn’t the one who went and got myself Infected!”

It was just a tiny throb, but Rhodonite’s Ruby flickered with light. “Oh, how dare you,” she hissed.

“And there we have it,” Padparadscha said, rising from her seat. While she was still smiling, there was now a coldness to her words, a cutting edge none of her friends had ever heard before. “You don’t really care about the Infected, do you, Emerald, my dear?”

Suddenly realizing her mistake, Emerald shrunk back and began to backpeddle. “Oh, no, no, you misunderstand, I didn’t mean that---”

“Yes you did,” she said firmly. And then, her voice very low but clear: “I know you think I’m useless, Emerald. But my friends don’t. Seeing things that have happened is useful for understanding motives.” She turned away from the screen, hands clasped behind her back and eye on the floor. “Your status is in tatters, Emerald, and you’ve sunk the last of your dwindling funds into this… ‘treatment’ you speak of. You know what I saw? Do you know what I have seen, Emerald?” She whirled on the spot and pointed at her. “You are a LIAR!”

Fluorite began to reach for Padparadscha, but Lars’ hand shot up to stop her.

“There is no effective treatment, you miscreant! It's torture! I have seen Sapphires rounded up and held against their will! That just happened! That is happening now, I know it!” She leaned forward with a scowl. “And you come to me now because I am _rare_ , and thus a valuable asset to the scientists you’ve got in your pocket. You think you can tempt me with dreams of not being ‘Off-Colour’? HA!” She lifted her skirts to show her feet, and Emerald blushed a deep green at the display so taboo to Sapphires. “I will never trade my friends for trinkets you dangle in front of me! NEVER!”

Slamming both palms on her console, Emerald jumped up and bared her fangs. “You miserable little shit! Once I get my hands on you, the offer is going to change!”

“Oh, goodness gracious… Emerald is going to think she can threaten me!”

“It’s not a threat, it’s a promise!”

“No. Liar liar _liar_ ,” she scolded. “Nothing has changed. It was a trap from the beginning.”

Emerald’s gem constricted like an iris, her middle facet glittering in her rage. “You turn yourself in now, you worthless traitor, and your ‘friends’ get to go free. You turn me down one more time, and I’ll have you all!”

Lars got to his feet, deciding that this would probably be a good time to intervene, but he faltered when Padparadscha’s sweet voice cut through the tension:

“I suppose that threat is quite valid,” she said, pretending to think it over. “And I do predict there is nothing I can do to stop you.”

“Damn right!”

“I wouldn’t be able to threaten you right back. Why, I don’t have anything to threaten you with!” She sighed, full of put-on theatrics, and shook her head as if in defeat. “If only I had a video file… something that could put your alleged ‘purity’ to great question.”

Drop by drop, all the colour paled from Emerald’s face. “Wh…what?”

“Being a technical advisor proffers great power, and with great power comes great responsibility.” Padparadscha was now pacing around in a little semi-circle. “It would, indeed, be very irresponsible of me to send a file that had been so well-hidden to the Diamonds.”

Emerald seemed to be shrinking back into her chair.

“What would they think? Oh, I predict they could very well _faint_ if they saw an Emerald so lewdly displayed! Do they even know that Emeralds can get fuzzy handcuffs that match their fur?” She then paused, offering a smile to her enemy. “A technical advisor must scrutinize all files aboard a ship, don’t you know. And if that technical advisor can see things that have already happened… she might just know exactly where to look. Though I do give you some credit,” she went on with a snap of her fingers, “The filename ‘seventy minus one’ was quite clever. It took me awhile to figure out what that meant!”

Emerald was left spluttering.

Left Rutile glanced at her sister and whispered “Seventy minus one? What does that mean?”

“It’s sixty-nine, idiot,” Right said with a grin.

“Oh… my… holy… dear… _stars_ ,” Fluorite mumbled, blushing, as she slowly sunk her face into her hands.

“You… you wouldn’t,” Emerald stammered. “You would never do something like that, Sa---Padparadscha.”

“Wouldn’t I?”

And that’s when her hand began to flit on down towards her control panel. “One little click… that’s all it’ll take, Emerald.”

She was hesitating, licking the salver off her lips. “You’re lying. You’re just testing me. You think you have the upper hand.”

Padparadscha righted her back. “Step down, Emerald.”

“Never! Do what you want---when I capture you, my slate will be wiped clean! It doesn’t matter!”

“ _Liar._ I of all gems know some things are unforgivable to the Diamonds!” She gripped her hands into tiny fists, and in any other context it would have looked adorable---but now she was almost radiating a terrifying aura. “We will come for you. We will rescue the Sapphires you’ve trapped. We will not stand idly by while you oppress other Off-Colours.”

She flinched back, but, to her credit, Emerald still managed to hold a veneer of haughtiness around her. “This is your last chance, Padparadscha!”

Her smile seemed oddly placid. “A chance? Oh, how wonderful!”

And then she put a hand to her face, lifting her bangs. Her eye narrowed just slightly.

“As you said so eloquently earlier, Emerald, you can just SHOVE IT!” Padparadscha grinned and dropped her hair back over her eye. “Never darken our door again, you… you… you _Rhinestone!_ ”

She smashed the control panel, and the message blipped out of sight.

For what felt like an eternity, the Sun Incinerator was abjectly quiet. Not a single crew member knew exactly what to say.

After an eventuality, Padparadscha turned around. "Did I just _do that?_ ”

“Padparadschaaaa!” Rhodonite leapt up with all four fists pumping up in the air. “That was incredible!”

Fluorite was trying in vain to keep her huge smile under her small hand. “You… proved… yourself… very… brave. And… a…little… foolish.”

The Twins spun their chair and ran to her side, each rubbing the puffy sleeves of her uniform. “’Foolish’ doesn’t begin to describe it! You called her the r-word!” Right said, apparently unable to bring herself to say it. Her twin was giggling, cheeks all red. “And you showed your feet!”

With a delighted scream, Rhodonite threw her arms around both the Twins and the tiny Sapphire, and, after recovering a moment, Fluorite leaned down to do so as well. Stunned, and completely confused, Lars got up and tried to figure out how to respond to whatever the Hell had just happened.

When he finally regained his voice, he said “So, um, Pads… about that video file?”

**Author's Note:**

> Not quite sure what to say about this... I hope you all had fun imagining just what was on that video file (and who Emerald was with!) I had a lot of fun writing Padparadscha here---one of the only ways to make her lose her temper is to try to drive a wedge between her and her beloved friends. Don't try it!
> 
> I have this headcanon that it's taboo on Homeworld for Sapphires to show their feet---one of the reasons Ruby was so flustered during the baseball game ;)
> 
> And I think Rhodonite inherited some salt from her Pearl XD
> 
> As always, thanks for reading :)


End file.
